The Healing Power of Shakti

Shakti, the intrinsic grace of the Divine Mother Goddess, holds the supreme power of spiritual, psychosomatic and bodily well-being. Connecting to Shakti we can unravel all the energies of healing – both for healing ourselves and healing others. Drawing from the sacred source of the universal Shakti, one can move beyond the limitations of all outer therapies, medications and even psychoanalysis. The force and benevolence of the Goddess in her manifestations as Bhu Devi or Mother Earth, and Maha Prakriti or Great Nature, allow us to restore our health and rejuvenate through the flow of divine grace.

Mother Earth and Mother Nature carry the Shakti essence of all healing. Everything in the universe possesses its own special healing power or Shakti. Ayurvedic medicine teaches us how to recognize, understand and work with these different healing Shaktis in its various therapies. The Hindu yogic approach manifests a healing power through its sacred sciences of Devi Tantra, Bhakti Yoga, Ayurveda, Vedic Astrology, Mantra Jnana, Vedanta and Yogasana. To embrace the healing power of Shakti we must understand and inculcate the principles of our ancient rishi culture.

Vayu Mandala, the Atmosphere in Vedic Thought Holds the Pranic Shakti

The atmosphere forms the dominant realm of the Earth’s prana, the global vital force through which the planetary organism functions. The term “atmo” in atmosphere derives from the Greek term for breath that relates to the Sanskrit term Atman, which is not merely the breath but the spirit as well. The forces of the atmosphere–what is called the sphere of the winds or Vayu Mandala in Vedic thought–are responsible for the weather and seasonal changes that drive the movement of all life on the planet. The atmosphere is the sacred breath of the planet, which grants life to all creatures!

Being in sync with the rhythmic waves of the Vayu Mandala and sacred Vayu Yantra, patterns formed through the pranic atmospheric forces grace us with vitality. The rapid fluctuations of the atmospheric forces and their subsequent weather patterns are the primary factors in the outer world for health and well-being. Our ability to adjust to their daily and seasonal rhythms determines whether we resist or succumb to psychosomatic disorders, ailments or diseases starting with the common cold and extending to collective epidemics and plagues.

The forces of the atmosphere hold the Shakti of the universal prana. The ecosystem or flora and fauna convey the powers of heat and cold, dampness and dryness, wind and sunlight, making their mark upon nature, our physical being and its energies. Atmospheric forces shape the outer environment, to which our inner environment or bodily state must harmonize itself in order to maintain balance. Each one of us can be said to be a manifestation of the atmosphere, incarnate as an individual being, which exists as the breath or prana within us. Living creatures are atmospheric forms that move along the planet’s surface like the winds. In addition, we have our own ‘inner atmosphere’, which manifests our emotional and energy sphere. How we fine tune our emotions and mindset to its intrinsic nature, is essential to our psychological well-being.

Shiva is the great Lord of Prana and the Devi or Goddess is the grace which directs its flow. The divine Lila of Shiva and Shakti as a manifestation of cosmic dynamism reside behind the play of our own prana or life force. Being in sync with Mother Nature helps us live in this flow of benevolence. The lightning in the atmosphere reflects the vibrant Shakti or life force of the Earth, holding the solar energy in the clouds, which begets the rain that nourishes all living creatures. The atmosphere is the great sphere of Shakti on Earth with its dramatic storms and shifting clouds that move swiftly on a daily or even hourly basis. Without the dynamic flow of air through the atmosphere, life would not be possible even for a moment.